A public showdown between mortgage bank Alliance & Leicester and Mr Peter White, its former chief executive, looked increasingly likely yesterday after Mr White decided to take his claim for unfair dismissal to an industrial tribunal.

Mr White was ousted from his position after the board said it wanted "a new, more consensual style of leadership".

The hearing would mean several board members taking the stand to answer questions about the circumstances surrounding Mr White's departure. That may prove embarrassing to Alliance & Leicester, which has sought to downplay the affair. The testimony of Mr John Windeler, the chairman and acting chief executive at the centre of the decision to remove Mr White, will form the core of the hearing.

The row emerged after Mr Windeler started merger talks with Woolwich but excluded Mr White. It is understood Mr White was banned from the talks after Woolwich said his management style could form an obstacle to any deal. Similar concerns were raised before the collapse of Alliance & Leicester's planned merger with Bank of Ireland.

After the failed talks, Mr White convened the board to discuss defence strategies but was removed after 18 years with the group.

His decision to go to a tribunal may be a ploy to use the threat of adverse publicity to put pressure on Alliance & Leicester to reach an out-of-court settlement.